Legacy of the Greater East Asia War that Supports Postwar Japanby EZAKI Michio(Summary)
Mr. EZAKI Michio, political analyst, writes that turmoil and conflict in Asia did
not end with the Greater East Asia War in August 1945. Japan forcibly ended foreigncolonialism in Asia and Asians declared independence, yet Europeans and Americans
rush in to fill the void at the end of the War. As an ironic twist, Mr. Ezaki points out thatwhile Europe and America were reasserting their supremacy over their former colonies,
with countless Asian lives being lost in the process, Japan was accused of being an“aggressor” and tried for “crimes against peace” at the Tokyo Trials.
For those who have forgotten, Mr. Ezaki reiterates how the indigenous Asianpeoples rejoiced upon the arrival of the Japanese and the departure of the Americans andEuropeans. For example, leaders of post-war India and Indonesia have expressed theirappreciation of the Japanese in training and arming their people. Furthermore, Mr. Ezaki
describes how, after the end of the Greater East Asia War, the Allies waged their own“aggressive war” against Asia and how their acts led to partitioning and guerrilla war,one result being the monumental communist victory in mainland China, the mostpopulous nation on earth. The murderous attempts by the Dutch to reclaim Indonesia as
its colony, what they called “police actions,” were merely a different shade of“aggressive war”. The Dutch assumed that the Indonesians would happily throw
themselves at their feet, but the Indonesians, who tasted freedom from Dutch rule thanks
to Japan, thought otherwise. After three and a half years of conflict, between an illequipped Indonesia militia against modern European military machines (of the British aswell as the Dutch), hundreds of thousands of Indonesian lives were lost. As if the lives
lost and property destroyed were not enough, the Dutch audaciously sued the Indonesians
for damages as the price for independence. It was not until 2005 that the Dutch finallyrecognized Indonesia’s 1945 Declaration of Independence.
Modern history books erroneously claim that Asian countries were “liberated” atthe end of the Greater East Asia War. The fact is that Asian countries declared
independence following the ouster of their European and American overlords. Thisoversight, most clearly demonstrated in Japanese public school history texts, is thelingering legacy of the Allies concerted effort in not only destroying Japan’s militarycapacity but also Japan’s “national dignity and pride”. Indeed, while President Franklin
Roosevelt demanded Japan’s “philosophical” destruction and a “Weak Japan” to ensure
peace in Asia, more level-headed Americans saw that such a policy would lead instead tomore conflict in Asia, with the distinct possibility of all of Asia turning Red. Thus the“course reversal,” the US abandonment of the “Weak Japan” policy to one that saw Japanas an indispensable “breakwater against communism,” during the American Occupation
period. At the same time, those who advocated the course reversal also viewed theTokyo Trials, as part of the plan to weaken Japan’s dignity and pride, with grave
misgiving.

Asians greatly appreciated Japan’s efforts in overturning the American andEuropean status quo and such appreciation was expressed as denouncing any demand forheavy reparations. Also, Asian countries fully welcomed the Japanese and their expertise,
which boosted their national economies. Thus, the reality greatly contrasts with what isclaimed by China, Korea and their Japanese sympathizers.